Does Your Star Sign Really Affect Your Life?

Horoscopes. Love them or hate them, they always seem to crop up in magazines and I always read them but do they offer much truth or substance? Are there signs that are more compatible than others and do we really have the traits these astrologists claim we do just because of the month we were born in?

According to traditional astrology, since I’m an Aquarius I should be paired with either a Libra or a Gemini. Thankfully my boyfriend is a Gemini otherwise woah it so wouldn’t work would it? I don’t really believe in horoscopes even though I read them in magazines. They’re just there and sometimes a couple of the points actually do relate to my life and I start to think I could make the rest happen.

Aquarius’s are described as crazy, brilliant, open minded, loyal, individualistic to the point of being eccentric, idealistic to the point of dreaminess and they’re NEVER dull. I would say I’m most of these things but I know lots of other people who are all these things too and they aren’t Aquarius.

I read an article on why you should ignore your horoscope and thought the points it made were interesting:

“You might be reading this and thinking “but, my horoscope has come true on several occasions!” Well, I’m afraid that’s just an example of subjective validation – which means you pick up on coincidences and assign them an incorrect meaning. This particularly happens when it’s something that has personal meaning to you: when you want it to be more than a coincidence.

Think of it this way. Have you ever had that experience when the phone rings, you think “it’ll be John” and it is? Spooky, huh? But what about all the times when you think “it’ll be John” … and it isn’t. You probably forget all about those.”

It’s true, if it says ‘you will be in a great financial situation this week’ and you’ve just got paid then yeah, you are going to think it’s true but the statements are so generalised that it could apply to any sign. Are we just shaping our lives around these small nuggets of information or do they have some elements of truth to them? I like to think of them as little paragraphs of advice that you should try and live by throughout that month. If it says don’t do something this month then what’s the harm in postponing it? If it says leap at that opportunity or arrange that meet up with friends then do it. What have you got to lose?

I read my monthly horoscope on Cosmo’s website and it said: “New Moon, new start -that’s the way it goes. There is much more to what you are doing than just another project, role or goal, though. You are inventing, discovering and innovating at a very high level these days and the frequencies will reach people who desperately need the kind of intellectual open space you are promising.” I guess that is true since I’ve just accepted a new job which should open all sorts of doors for me which ties in with the inventing and discovering part, since my role will be varied. I’m not sure how it will help other people but I will be writing blog posts for a company and they haven’t started blogging nor know much about it so maybe in that way I will be imparting my wisdom to improve the company.

Again, I’m just speculating here. I don’t really know if that’s what it might mean but I’m relating it to situations in my life and hoping the rest will come true. In a way, horoscopes tell of things that have already happened like getting the job so they are more of a deja vu passage. In relation to my love life, this is what it said: “This year is all about balancing your desire for freedom with a partner who is very much his own person.” I’m not really sure what that even means. I’m guessing it means we both know what we want in life and need to make sure we compromise or looking at it another way could mean balancing my supposed desire for freedom with the stability of a relationship. I don’t know, it could mean either but I’ll take it on board as casual advice.

I found an interesting quote online that supported the fact horoscopes contain at least a little of the truth. “If as a child you spend six months looking forward to Christmas, then six months looking forward to your birthday, it is possible you will end up psychologically different to someone who has both celebrations in the same month.” Although a small observation. It might have some affect on your personality and attitudes towards possession of material goods but this isn’t to say the time of year in which you are born makes you wildly different to everyone else because after all isn’t it the way you are brought up that determines what sort of person you turn out to be?